1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a box spring for supporting a mattress and more particularly to fittings for enabling a box spring to accommodate an inflatable air bladder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various systems are known for utilizing an inflatable air volume disposed between mattress and a box spring or platform for facilitating maneuvering of the mattress relative to the box spring. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,006,331. Various embodiments are disclosed in the '331 patent. In one embodiment the inflatable air volume is incorporated into a cover which is attached to an underside of the mattress and inflated in order to facilitate maneuvering of the mattress. In yet another embodiment, the inflatable volume is integrated into an encasement which encases the mattress. In that embodiment, the inflatable air volume is disposed on the underside of the mattress as well. Finally, in a third embodiment, the inflatable air volume is integrated into an underside of a mattress In all three embodiments, a conduit is attached to the inflatable air volume on one end and an air supply is connected to the opposing end of the conduit. In such configurations, since the air supply and the conduit are all connected to the mattress, any maneuvering of the mattress, for example, rotation, will cause the air supply and the conduit to be maneuvered as well.
As such, it would be useful to build the conduits for the air supply directly into the foundation. Unfortunately, the current configuration of a box spring does not provide a rigid vertical surface that can provide a stable connection for an air supply conduit. In particular, the current configuration of a box spring is illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. As shown, the box spring, generally identified with the reference numeral 20, includes a wood frame, generally identified with the reference numeral 22. The box spring 20 also includes a plurality of wire frames, generally identified with the reference numeral 24. The wire frames 24 are stapled to cross members 26 of the wood frame 22 and connected together by a plurality of traverse rods 28 that extend the width of the box spring 20. The assembled box spring is covered with a cover 30 which is stapled on the ends to the underside of the cross members 26. The vertical walls of the box spring 20 are formed by the cover 30. The cover 30 may be formed from a cover material and an insulating material. The cover 30 includes a top panel and the vertical walls. As such the vertical walls of the box spring 20 are soft surfaces and are incapable of providing a stable surface for connection to a conduit or for supporting an external source of air.
Thus, there is a need for providing a stable surface on the vertical walls of the box spring 20 to provide a stable surface for connecting a conduit so that an inflatable bladder can be incorporated into the box spring 20 to provide a configuration in which the mattress (not shown) can be maneuvered with respect to the box spring 20 without affecting the conduit and air supply.